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'Woodhill', 71 Chatsworth Road
History
HistoryJames Walter Chapman-Taylor designed 'Woodhill' in the Arts and Crafts style for a Mr and Mrs Rupert Barkeley-Smith. It was completed in 1933.
Building of the house began in June 1932, and by January 1933 only a final payment of 100 pounds was outstanding.
Payments to Chapman-Taylor were £2,563/1/11, and the actual cost of the house was £2482/0/0.
The Barkeley Smiths had moved to Bungay, Suffolk, in December 1967, and wrote to the then owners, MacKenzies, about their son's visit to Woodhill; they enclosed details and added other information.
They had bought DP145-2, part of section 101, Hutt District; area 29 acres 2 roods 29 perches, for £1450 and spent £300 on access to the site. The house was named Woodhill after her father's house just outside Cork, Ireland. Mr Barkeley-Smith had made a path to a tennis court on the top of the ridge (the letter includes a sketch map). The S-bend in Chatsworth Road apparently started as the Woodhill drive, and was made single-handed by an Australian.
The letter mentioned many changes of hands; people had said it was too lonely.
Names found on electoral rolls:-
1950; Mary Ettie O'Hara-Smith, spinster; resident
1956; Arthur Oliver Kersey, secretary, ratepayer
1956; Lucy Mary Hay Milne, spinster; resident;
1962; William Brooke Dawson, brewer; retired.
As most of the land had been sold, the $450 000 price advertised in March 1990 had started as little over £2482; over 57 years the value had grown 90 times; 13% per annum!
Building of the house began in June 1932, and by January 1933 only a final payment of 100 pounds was outstanding.
Payments to Chapman-Taylor were £2,563/1/11, and the actual cost of the house was £2482/0/0.
The Barkeley Smiths had moved to Bungay, Suffolk, in December 1967, and wrote to the then owners, MacKenzies, about their son's visit to Woodhill; they enclosed details and added other information.
They had bought DP145-2, part of section 101, Hutt District; area 29 acres 2 roods 29 perches, for £1450 and spent £300 on access to the site. The house was named Woodhill after her father's house just outside Cork, Ireland. Mr Barkeley-Smith had made a path to a tennis court on the top of the ridge (the letter includes a sketch map). The S-bend in Chatsworth Road apparently started as the Woodhill drive, and was made single-handed by an Australian.
The letter mentioned many changes of hands; people had said it was too lonely.
Names found on electoral rolls:-
1950; Mary Ettie O'Hara-Smith, spinster; resident
1956; Arthur Oliver Kersey, secretary, ratepayer
1956; Lucy Mary Hay Milne, spinster; resident;
1962; William Brooke Dawson, brewer; retired.
As most of the land had been sold, the $450 000 price advertised in March 1990 had started as little over £2482; over 57 years the value had grown 90 times; 13% per annum!
Photos
Location
DescriptionThe house plan is labelled 'House at Chatsworth Rd Silverstream for R. Barkley-Smith, Esq. J. W. Chapman-Taylor Archt'.
'Honor Barkeley Smith' was the signature in a 1969 letter from the original owner's wife.
The Chapman-Taylor archive has photocopies of the contents of a booklet of at least 19 photos, with some comments and the architect's plan and his approaches to work. There are also summaries of costs £2482 (pounds), specifications, photocopies of what looks like a five-picture magazine article, and two different sets of photocopies taken from the original plan, which was originally about 46 x 37 cm; and a couple of sales advertisements.
The plan shows five bedrooms upstairs, and a den which is almost as big as the biggest bedroom.
Later,described in a sales advertisement as having 5 double bedrooms, foyer, lounge with alcove, dining room, kitchen with utility room; upstairs had 2 complete bathrooms and attic space, plus the bedrooms; outside, filtered swimming pool, bbq area and 2-car accommodation.
A March 23, 1990 advertisement lists it as 'a stately home with Historic "B" Classification', and prices it at $450,000.
The April/May 1990 H & B (House and Building' printed an article on three Chapman-Taylor houses. The Woodhill name was not mentioned in the three pages on this house. The owners were Kate and Barnie (no surnames were given). By this stage the original 29-acre property had been subdivided into 69 building sites. Features listed included beam sizes;10 by 12 inches (25 x 30 cm) in the drawing and dining rooms, and 8 x 8 (200 x 200) secondary beams; beams and posts were adze-hewn; windows were aluminium and the doors had been imported from England (comment; not some exterior doors, which are detailed on the plan?).Coordinates[1] The house
'Honor Barkeley Smith' was the signature in a 1969 letter from the original owner's wife.
The Chapman-Taylor archive has photocopies of the contents of a booklet of at least 19 photos, with some comments and the architect's plan and his approaches to work. There are also summaries of costs £2482 (pounds), specifications, photocopies of what looks like a five-picture magazine article, and two different sets of photocopies taken from the original plan, which was originally about 46 x 37 cm; and a couple of sales advertisements.
The plan shows five bedrooms upstairs, and a den which is almost as big as the biggest bedroom.
Later,described in a sales advertisement as having 5 double bedrooms, foyer, lounge with alcove, dining room, kitchen with utility room; upstairs had 2 complete bathrooms and attic space, plus the bedrooms; outside, filtered swimming pool, bbq area and 2-car accommodation.
A March 23, 1990 advertisement lists it as 'a stately home with Historic "B" Classification', and prices it at $450,000.
The April/May 1990 H & B (House and Building' printed an article on three Chapman-Taylor houses. The Woodhill name was not mentioned in the three pages on this house. The owners were Kate and Barnie (no surnames were given). By this stage the original 29-acre property had been subdivided into 69 building sites. Features listed included beam sizes;10 by 12 inches (25 x 30 cm) in the drawing and dining rooms, and 8 x 8 (200 x 200) secondary beams; beams and posts were adze-hewn; windows were aluminium and the doors had been imported from England (comment; not some exterior doors, which are detailed on the plan?).
Coordinates[1] The houseDetails
Established1932
Connections
Associated PeopleJames Walter Chapman-Taylor
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'Woodhill', 71 Chatsworth Road. Upper Hutt City Library, accessed 18/03/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/24127